Chess tactics
Knight endgames: short range, exact play
A knight is short-range, so king activity and the timing of pawn moves decide most knight endgames. Coordinate king and knight first and you usually win.
2,478 vetted knight endgames puzzlesTrain knight endgames →
Because the knight is slow over distance, the player whose king gets active and whose pawns advance with tempo tends to come out ahead. Know which pawns a lone knight can stop and which it can’t, and keep the king in front of your passed pawns.
How to spot it
- Activate the king first — it matters more than the knight here.
- Remember the knight is slow across the board; long diagonals beat it.
- Keep your king ahead of your passed pawns.
From the corpus
Three real knight endgames, each verified by Stockfish at depth 22. Click any one to solve it.
More tactics
Forks
A fork is a single piece attacking two or more enemy pieces at the same time. Your opponent can only save one — you take the other.
Pins
A pin freezes an enemy piece against a more valuable one behind it. It can’t move without giving up the piece in the rear — so you pile up on it and win it.
Skewers
A skewer attacks a valuable piece in front; when it steps aside, the piece behind it on the same line falls.
Discovered attacks
A discovered attack moves one piece out of the way to open fire from the piece behind it. Two threats land at once, and your opponent often can’t meet both.
Deflection
A defender is doing important work — guarding a mating square, holding a piece. Deflection gives it something it can’t refuse, and once it moves, what it guarded falls.
Trapped pieces
A trapped piece has no safe square. It’s still on the board, but it can’t get out — so you win it at your leisure.